If you’re reading this, chances are you have some interest in travel. In fact, you may have a lot of interest. Maybe you’re a Hyatt Globalist or have American AAdvantage Executive Platinum status. Perhaps you’ve been able to go to all 50 states or (gasp!) every country in the world.
Of course, not everyone has or is even trying to get Million Miler status. The vast majority of us don’t even fly very often—maybe once or twice a year, or not even that often. Some people are somewhere in between the two extremes—they travel regularly but not enough to be considered in the “big league.”
Regardless of how much you travel – all the time, hardly ever, or somewhere in between, you’ve probably used some travel life hacks.
A definition of hacking is “a strategy or technique for managing one’s time or activities more efficiently.” Travel hacking started as working up within the existing rules set up by airlines, credit cards, hotels and rental car companies, using them to earn free flights and frequent flyer miles, free hotel stays and hotel points, and/or free/cheap/upgraded rental car. Those activities continue to this day but now include almost any idea that makes traveling easier or more affordable. So a travel hack could be how to churn credit cards and not ruin your credit score…but it could also be using packing cubes to fit more into your suitcase.
Several thousand travelers were recently asked what their favorite travel hack was. These were people from every level of traveler—from those who frequently use ultra-low-cost carriers like Spirit, Frontier and Allegiant to those who go to United Polaris lounges on a regular basis. Regardless, there are probably some tips and tricks you hadn’t thought of or heard of and might find helpful.
How To Enhance Your Trip
- How to eat fast food on the road and not make a mess
- Use stopovers to your advantage – stay a few days to see the sights, and it’s like a bonus vacation (also see “Tips To Save Money”)
- How to listen to your favorite music stations anywhere in the world
- Download the Google Translate app to help with language barriers
Getting Into Lounges
- The opportunities are fewer and further between nowadays, but trying to buy a guess pass from the lounge in question
- Get credit cards that give you free lounge access
Packing Advice
- What to bring & not to bring
- Pack a dryer sheet in your luggage so it’ll smell nice
- How to get around TSA’s 3-1-1 rules
- 2 morally gray hacks to get more liquids through the TSA checkpoint
- Use packing cubes
- Wear your heaviest/bulkiest clothes on the plane, so save some weight/space in your bags
- Roll your clothes to give you more space
- Vacuum seal space bags (but your stuff WILL be wrinkled)
- Fold your suit so it won’t wrinkle your suitcase
- Fold the rest of your clothes so they don’t wrinkle
- Pack items inside others (i.e., socks inside of shoes)
- do laundry while traveling – it lets you bring fewer items
Tips To Save Money
- Bring an empty water bottle and refill it
- Stay at a cheaper hotel but visit a swankier place and buy drinks at the bar – get the experience of a more luxurious hotel for just the price of a drink
- Buy Spirit tickets at the airport to save the “Passenger Usage Charge.”
- Go to cities during the “off” season – hotels & flights may be cheaper (such as getting this discount if you go to NYC during the right time of year)
- Hidden city fares (a.k.a. Skiplagged. We don’t do it [here’s why – and here’s an example of when it went badly wrong] but many people do)
- Stopovers are usually cheaper than non-stops (also see “How To Enhance Your Trip”)
- Become a travel agent (Fun fact! A long time ago – way before we started writing YMMV, Joe considered becoming a travel agent so he could take advantage of the bennies) or work for an airline or hotel chain
- Don’t check luggage (or use Southwest, since they don’t charge for your first 2 checked bags) (this also stops you from your luggage being lost)
- (We haven’t tried this one, but…) Switch the city/country on the Groupon app for deals specific to that place (also remember that the Entertainment Book is still around)
- Travel by price, rather than destination (obviously, YMMV on this one – someone people want to travel, regardless. Others have specific destinations in mine)
- Exchange your money at the ATM, not the airport (you’ll get a better rate and less fees)
Earning Points & Miles
Airport Hacks
- Use the MyTSA app to check the airport security line
- How to get through security a little faster & more organized
- How to track flights without an app
Plane Hacks
- An oversized scarf can double as a blanket on the plane
- How to avoid a cancelled/delayed flight
- 15 ways to become flight attendants’ favorite passenger
- If you’re 2 people, reserve the window and aisle seat – there is less chance of someone taking the middle seat
Hotel Hacks
- Use a pants hanger from your hotel’s closet to keep the blinds closed
- How to override thermostat settings (careful though – it could go horribly wrong)
- How to get more desk/table space
- How to get more water pressure
Miscellaneous Hacks & Tips
OK, your turn – what are some of your “everyday” travel hacks?
Feature Photo: stocksnap.io
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